Recommendations for a whitetail load in .243

[CRNA]

A .260 Rem kicks more than a .243 & I'm assuming the Creedmore will be hotter than the .260 Rem. That said, my thin daughter took 2 deer with a .260 Rem (using factory loads) when she was 9 and said she barely felt the recoil. With kids I do not let them practice much with loads that kick or they learn to be afraid of it. Most practice is with the .22 or maybe the .223 A few shots with the hunting load, and it's time for the kid to hunt. Teaching kids that way, I've never had a kid worry about, or have a problem with, recoil.

That's true. Even with me. I NEVER feel the recoil when I am shooting at something alive. I feel it every time when I am shooting at paper. Same thing with the noise. Never even hear the gun go off when I'm ready to drop something, but if I shot one practice shot without my earplugs my ears would ring for 24 hours at least. Good plan you have there.

 

[ReachnOut]

One other bullet that you may wish to consider is the 95 grain CT (Combined Technology) manufactured by Nosler. This has become my "go to" bullet for everything between .243 to .338. In .243 I've used the 95 grain CT and a near max charge for starting the youngsters from 8 years up with no recoil issues. The CT is a Lubalox coated bullet (not to be confused with moly coatings) that reduces barrel pressure and friction which, IMHO, are ranking factors in felt recoil. Bonus for me on these bullets after firing thousands of rounds is the reduced barrel wear, especially in "barrel eater" wildcats.

 

[CogburnR]

I wouldn't drop the powder charge down much.

I would use the 85g Sierra HPBT and maybe 43g or so of IMR4350,760 or H414, this would reduce pressure some and reduce muzzle blast and felt recoil a bit but would still give good velocity and energy. Maybe 3000fps instead of 3250fps.

 

[roninflag]

85 nosler partition first choice. 2900-3000 fps. varget or I4064, second choice a 85 sierra bthp. third other 85s speer ect.

 

[CRNA]

A sincere "thank you" to everyone for helping me out with the load for my son.